Climb Every Mountain

I knew when I went to bed last night what I wanted to post about this morning. Luckily, I even remembered it! But even if I hadn’t, this morning’s reader feed of What’s Keeping You from Climbing Kilimanjaro? from the folks at Unclutterer would have reminded me. In her post, Erin Doland tells about her aunt, an avid traveler who once climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Seeing the world is at the top of her list of what matters most to her, and she has made it a real priority. She doesn’t let distractions (clutter) get in the way of the life she wants to lead. When she wanted to climb Kilimanjaro, she planned and made the trip a reality. She didn’t make excuses or let her fears keep her from achieving something that was important to her.

I contributed the bolded text part. I’m just helpful that way.

Having heard or read or, perhaps, used every explanation under the sun for NOT eating healthier, NOT exercising, NOT working on a more positive attitude, or just generally NOT doing what we say we want to do, well, it’s getting kind of old, to tell you the truth. I don’t mean the little blips and bumps that arise as we fuddle our way through, because those are an expected part of growth and change. No, I’m talking about the “I’m too (hot)(hungry)(tired) (broke) (busy)(uncomfortable)(etc.)” kind of reasoning we use to avoid doing what we say needs doing. The time has come to turn things around.

When something is truly important to us, we FIND a way to do it. The suffocating heat of summer, the lure of 22 cupcake variations in a single showcase, the pressing demands of family or career, a lack of immediate knowledge, discomfort, finances–heck, there are probably a bazillion (maybe more) obstacles in the course of a life. But they are all obstacles that can be overcome, if we want something badly enough.

::Pause while I look over my goals list at a couple of the same projects that have been there for OVER A YEAR with only modest progress::

Oh yes, the time has come to turn things around and begin the ascent. If these projects and goals are truly important to me, I will do them. I may not always feel confident or comfortable or successful, but I will do them. Somehow. Some way.

And if I’m not going to do them–if I’m going to repeatedly say they’re important to me but continually come up with lame excuses why they’re not getting done–well, then I need to just shut up about them.

Whether we’re talking about weight loss, fitness, decluttering, starting a business, or any other sort of life goal, the bottom line remains the same: We DO what is important to us. Maybe not all at once, and probably not elegantly, but we DO IT.

As I move through my day today (and the days that follow), I’m going to be especially mindful of excuses and barriers I put up for myself, separating and eliminating the excuses right away, so that my time and energy is spent on finding ways (fun ways, I hope!) of getting over the obstacles. If you’ve found any measure of resonance in this post (or Erin’s), I hope you’ll join me.

And just in case you’ve managed to get that song out of your head, I’ll leave you with the lyrics, which are quite inspiring actually, if a tad repetitive:

Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.

“And if I’m not going to do them–if I’m going to repeatedly say they’re important to me but continually come up with lame excuses why they’re not getting done–well, then I need to just shut up about them.”

Here is where I get stuck – figuring out what my mountain is that I want to climb! But you are so right about excuses. Thanks for the reminder. And I am going to check out that blog since I HATE any kind of clutter.

I’ve climbed a lot of mountains lately… just getting with a plan and sticking to it is a humongous hurdle that I’m just now conquering. Making myself exercise 6 days a week is a biggie (not including chores, gardening, livestock care, etc).

Every day that I see the scale drop, I feel better. More alive. More vital. More… me.

Sometimes obstacles are reality at times. The really wanting to do something and the reality of say, funding it, keeps it from happening (or at least happening in the next 10 years).

We must put ourselves first, because if we don’t – no one else will. That’s the important principle for me. I come first and what I need comes first. Then I will be better equipped to do the other things.

Hi Cammy, I’ve visited your blog before, but think I’ll stick around awhile tonight and get to know you. Mostly, I’ve seen your comments on other blogs I follow.

I loved today’s post and can’t wait to read more. As a hiker (mostly in Great Smoky Mountains National Park), the words climbing, ascending, reaching the summit, etc are especially meaningful to me. And yes, if I want something badly enough, I’ll do what it takes to get it done. Including losing these last 19 pounds for the LAST time!!

You are so inspiring! Really! I can see the old nun warbling the song.

You’re right about all of this. It was a long day at work today and I’d much rather play computer tonight, but I’m going to drag myself upstairs and get on that treadmill. Clomp, clomp, clomp. How bad do I want it? Well, I need to want it more, because I sure am messing up.

It is amazing how powerful our minds are when we know we must get something accomplished, lately seeming always for someone else…just if we could make that energy work for us all the time! Oh how productive and fit I would be!

I finally had to decide that I was a priority and my exercise needs to come before anyone else’s needs at that same time. What a difference it makes when you decide not to feel guilty about spending time on yourself and doing something healthy.

Great post, Cammy. I should have read this before I went out for my run, not after, and I might have made myself run the entire way! I needed the reminder, because my goals are important to me. I like the line “we do what is important to us.” I need to take a look at what I’m doing. Thanks for this good input to my outlook.

Sometimes I do feel my desire to reach my goals start to waiver. I start to slip into old habits so quickly that it scares me a bit. I do hope that after more and more time and success, that it becomes just that much more and more important to be to live that way and not slip back down that mountain!

Lovely post. One thing that always bothers me is when people tell me they will try to do something. I always want to say, don’t try, just do it. And finally I’ve realized I need to stop the old try game when it comes to getting back to my goal weight.

Once again you validate my decision to read your blog. You are so right on so many levels here. If you want it bad enough, you WILL make it happen. Thanks for this today.

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I'm Cammy, and after years of the diet cycle--trying, failing, trying, failing, trying--well, you get the picture--I finally discovered a successful path to losing 100 pounds, a path that required slow, gradual changes. Read more...

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